The Dark Knight Comes to Smallville: Season 11

Batman and Nightwing pay Superman a visit in the comic book continuation of Smallville.

Back in June, we found out that a longtime dream of Smallville fans was set to come true: Batman would be arriving in the pages of Smallville: Season 11, the comic book continuation of the hit Superman show. We stand on the eve of the digital-first issue's release -- which you can download tomorrow for a mere .99 cents on the DC Comics app -- and so we talked with series writer Bryan Q. Miller about the implications Batman's arrival will have on Clark Kent and his friends.

We also touch on the Stephanie Brown controversy from Comic-Con, in which it was revealed that the fan-favorite character, initially slated to be present in the role of Nightwing, was axed for reasons unknown and replaced with Barbara Gordon.

IGN Comics: Let’s get the elephant out of the room first and put it to rest: Nightwing. Stephanie Brown. What’s the real story behind the change to Barbara Gordon?

Bryan Q. Miller: The editorial staff wanted a more “iconic character” in this case. Given the nature of our female Nightwing’s use in the story, of the available replacements, I leaned toward having Babs wielding the charged-escrima. That really was the beginning and the end of it.

IGN: Did the change affect anything significant for you story-wise? Did it require any rewriting other than dialogue?

Miller: The story itself only featured Steph as a supporting player, and was never directly about her, so the adventure was and remains a Superman/Batman World’s Finest action-packed romp in which Bruce is accompanied by a strong, positive, female apprentice.

IGN: Batman’s appearance in the Smallville Universe is obviously long-awaited by fans. Do you feel any pressure – more than normal, I guess – to deliver the goods?

Miller: Absolutely. It’s a bit crushing, really. On the plus side, this arc has been written for a little while, so there’s a distinct difference between the “do it right” writing pressure and the “hope they like it” release pressure.

IGN: What’s the nature of Batman’s introduction? Is he already operating as Batman when Clark meets him or will we see him take up the mantle after the fact?

Miller: You will most certainly meet a Batman who is knee-deep in his career within the first 10 pages of the arc. Intergang’s been shipping high-tech anti-hero weaponry to any city with a “cape problem.” Batman and Nightwing’s run-in digs up a connection to his parents’ murder, lo, those vaguely many years ago.

IGN: In Smallville, Clark’s journey was influenced by many of the other heroes that answered the call of duty before him, or before he was ready to. Now that Clark is operating as Superman when he meets Batman, has his perspective on these kind of relationships/team-ups changed?

Miller: In Season 10, we saw Clark finally begin to use the knowledge he gained over the course of the entire series to help deal with certain situations. Now that he’s finally in the cape and has taken to the skies, he’s much more in command of how he approaches confrontations/team-ups like these. Clark’s grown up a lot – he isn’t going to immediately jump to the “You’re a villain!” place when another cape passes through. Metropolis is Clark’s city. He’s the superhero sheriff, as far as he’s concerned.

If Batman (or any other vigilante) rolls into town, Superman is the one who’s going to strive to take the driver’s seat and set the ground rules. Now, how Batman responds to these “rules” may not be to Superman’s liking. This isn’t, however, a Superman vs. Batman story. There might be some conflict, but it’s very much more (especially once we get past the first 30) Lethal Weapon with the World’s Finest.

IGN: What do you consider to be the cornerstone of Superman and Batman’s relationship, and how are you reflecting that in Smallville?

Miller: The tough part is that we’ve kind of mined that iconic Clark/Bruce friendship space with Clark and Oliver throughout the latter half of the series. This meeting is much more Clark becoming an ally who’s helped Bruce come to several realizations – not just about how to protect a city, but about himself. Superman is one who inspires, and that won’t be lost on Batman. There’s a great amount of respect that will bond the two men.

IGN: From the cover images that we’ve seen, Batman looks like he’s more armor-plated than we’re used to seeing him. Can you talk a little bit about the design of the Smallville version of Batman and how it relates to the character that we’ll meet?

Miller: He’s very much just a man, and a smart one at that. And he’s also quite wealthy. Batman doesn’t take his war on crime lightly, and does his best to equip himself for any situation. This isn’t Year One for Batman. We’re somewhere between year 5 and 10 for him. You’ll see a Nightwing who’s far less armored – literally armed with escrima, a few gadgets, and a ton of moxie. She’s the scout. She’s the dancer. Batman – he’s the tank. And Gotham criminals don’t play fair. So Bruce is going to carry around as much with him as possible.

IGN: In terms of Nightwing, what role will she play in the story as a whole? Is she mostly a supporting character for Batman or will we get to see her interact with the established characters at length?

Miller: It’s a Batman/Superman tale, but since we’re an ensemble piece, there are definitely different pairings and interactions that we’ll see, not just between Nightwing and some of our players, but between Babs and the gang. It’s Bruce’s journey, though, through and through.

IGN: What’s the threat that Superman and Batman will be facing? Does the introduction of Batman indicate that one of his rogues might make their way to Metropolis?

Miller: Like we said a few questions back, the onion starts peeling with Intergang, and we wind up in a very big, bigger than we could ever do on television, place with not just one of Batman’s rogues, but a new one for Superman, as well.

IGN: In the DCU, historically, Batman and Green Arrow haven’t always been the best of allies. Are there any plans to explore that relationship, be it hero-to-hero or billionaire-to-billionaire?

Miller: There’s definite friction between the two, but much more in an Arrow-Batman direction. Bruce in no way takes Ollie seriously. Green Arrow pretty much isn’t on Batman’s radar as either an ally or a threat. This will prove to be a big “growing up” year for Oliver, so that’s only going to help him along.

IGN: Are you angling to make Batman a more permanent fixture in the Smallville Universe in the way that Green Arrow has become one?

Miller: Editorial-willing, we’ll definitely see him return for at least 2 more stories this season, but he won’t be around as a fixture. We’ve got our hands full with our ensemble, plus we’ll be revisiting old friends and meeting new allies and enemies. Lots of things to do!

IGN: With the Smallville comics having more freedom to introduce the other major players of the DCU, does this mean there could be plans to introduce Wonder Woman down the line? Make the trinity complete?

Miller: I wonder if that’s in the cards. It’s really a wonderful idea. Thanks for thinking about that, Joey – you’re a prince.

IGN: Last time we talked, you were still adjusting to the digital format of this book. Making sure that it’s fulfilling as its own chapter but making sure that it works in the print context as well. Has that process become any easier for you? What’ve you learned working in this format?

Miller: I think we found our feet right around Chapters 5 and 6 of Guardian. If nothing else, the short burst approach keeps you on your writer toes. Every 10 pages has to have enough of a cliffhanger/reveal/question mark that people are willing to come back after a week and read more. But for the print crowd, every 30 pages has to have enough of a cliffhanger to make them want to go back out into the world and find another copy after an entire month has passed. It’s a challenge, to be sure. I think what I took away from Guardian going into Detective was to not be afraid to burn through plot. Just keep throwing logs into the fire and hope everyone likes the heat.

IGN: Anything you’d like to add?

Miller: Response has been fantastic, and I just hope people, both from the show and new to the world, keep digging it. Digital’s been selling like hot cakes, and we had a sell-out and reprint on print issue #1 – which is great. I’ve never had a sell-out before… or at least if I have, no one’s told me about it. I’d remind anyone buying in print to order it with their LCS ahead of time – higher print numbers benefit fans and creatives alike!

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.